Ah, to be a fly on the wall in Chrysler Corporation’s styling department in the early 1960s, where asymmetrical and anachronistic sketches were immediately stamped “OK” and sent to the sculptors. OK, that’s an exaggeration, but there’s a refreshing level of “why not?” about this entire era of Mopar history that makes it endearing. Thus, we have fascinating creatures such as this 1963 Imperial Crown Four-Door, which is for sale on Marketplace in Stockholm, Wisconsin. To paraphrase my home state’s motto, if you seek a quirky luxury car, look about you.

We might as well get the bad part out of the way: cosmetically, this ’63 needs help. Since restoring an Imperial is neither cheap nor easy, it’s going to take a fanatic to provide that help. Since Imperial fanatics are themselves a rare breed, I think this example will fall into the “fun beater” category, which is admittedly antithetical to the Imperial’s image. Plus, “fun beaters” need to be inexpensive, and the owner’s asking price of $5,300 is perhaps a bit higher than people in this market will consider. But I hope someone is able to haggle with the owner and clean this car up as a driver, with maybe a new carpet and some decent seat covers.

Because what a great three-season daily driver this would be, gas mileage notwithstanding. The early 1960s were “peak dashboard,” and 1963 might have been the peak of the peak. Even the gauge cluster has fins, although fins had already passed out of style. Plus, you still have a push button gear selector for the Torqueflite. Being in Wisconsin, it appears that the car’s original owner was in the minority of Imperial buyers in not ordering air conditioning (only about 35 percent of ’63 didn’t have it). In my mind, that’s one less thing to go wrong on a car that’s already fairly complex for its era.

Under the hood, a yard or two behind those wild free-standing headlamps, is Chrysler’s tough 413 in 340-horsepower tune. American luxury cars of the early ’60s had some robust drivelines; it’s hard to choose a winner, but the big-block Chrysler has to be in the discussion. The seller has replaced the master cylinder and carburetor and says that the Imperial is a good driver. Just a guess, but the carburetor is most likely a new Edelbrock, as the air horn won’t fit the original air cleaner on a car that originally came with a Carter AFB, hence the K&N air cleaner.

So there you have it: a cool Imperial that’s possibly a little too rough to leave alone and probably too expensive to restore. Would this be a candidate for a coat of matte clear and some interior restoration? I think that’s where I’d be if the price were right. What do you think? Thanks to T.J. for sending this one our way.